La Pantera
by TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne
Summary: Raven, Beast Boy and Pantha go on a mission to Mexico, and Pantha tells her back story to the Chromatically Challenged Couple. One shot


_**La Pantera**_

It was midday in Parral, Chihuahua. The sun was at its zenith, pummeling the desert city with its searing heat. The midday siesta hour was in full force and the streets were mostly empty except for the occasional ancient VW bug taxis, which were held together with what appeared to be little more than chewing gum and bailing wire as they sputtered down the street.

A dust devil, or as the locals called it, a "tolvanera" was twisting its way down the dusty street, kicking up dirt and other debris in its path on the littered boulevard. The street led into the main plaza, known as Plaza Guillermo Baca, or simply 'el zocalo' as the locals called it. As was the case in most northern Mexican towns, el zocalo was flanked by the city hall building, the local church and a small Soriana discount store. What was different about this zocalo was that it also had a small indoor arena on its south side, and not just any indoor arena.

It was a lucha libre arena.

There was a small café built into the structure of the Soriana store and it wasn't very busy when 3 unusual people entered the establishment. Some of the patrons did a double take at the unusual trio while the more polite ones merely glanced at them out of the corners of their eyes, pretending to not notice the young green man, the pale girl with the blue cape and the huge woman wearing a lucha libre mask. The hostess approached them timidly and after exchanging polite pleasantries she led them to a booth in the far corner of the restaurant where they could have a modicum of privacy. A waitress quickly appeared and took their orders: Raven ordered the enchiladas suizas, Beast Boy ordered "enfrijoladas" once the waitress assured him that they contained no meat.

"Y para usted?" The waitress asked the tall woman.

Pantha requested two entrees, one was a taco platter and the other a dish made with grilled chicken. The waitress excused herself and dashed off into the kitchen.

"Is Robin sure that the Brotherhood of Evil set up shop here?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean why?"

"Why not?" Raven replied. "It's a perfectly good place. It isn't far from the US border and there is little police presence here. In any case, Robin didn't say they were here, he just sent us to investigate. He thinks they might have ties to the drug cartels."

A few of the restaurant patrons raised their eyebrows upon hearing Raven's words, but no one spoke up. The changeling gave Raven one of his goofy grins before turning his attention to Pantha.

"Did Rob say why he sent you with us, Pantha? Raven and I both speak half decent Spanish, so it's not like we needed an interpreter or a guide."

Pantha didn't answer right away. Instead she stared at the marquee on the wrestling venue. The sign identified it as the "Arena Parral" and it announced that night's match. Mil Mascaras Jr. would be facing off against Blue Demon Jr. in the headline match up.

"I grew up here," She announced in a deadpan monotone. "I guess that's why."

Before Pantha could continue an elderly gentleman stopped by their table. He had a quizzical look on his face, and he scrutinized Pantha carefully before addressing her in English.

"Rosa? Rosa Mendez?"

Pantha nodded.

"Si, Señor Bernal, soy yo, it's me."

"You've been gone for a long time. I see that it's true, that you are now a Jóven Titán, a Teen Titan. Is there a reason that the three of you are here?"

Pantha shook her head.

"No Mr. Bernal, we are just passing through," She lied to him.

"Will you be coming to the match tonight? Our headliners are from out of town."

"If time permits, I will be there."

The elderly gentleman tipped his hat at the two ladies and went on his way. Once he was out of earshot Raven spoke up.

"So this is your hometown?" She asked.

"I can see why you left, this place is a dump," Beast Boy interjected, after which Raven elbowed him in the ribs while giving him one of her signature glares.

Before Beast Boy could protest he waitress returned with their food, which they began to eat in silence.

"These enfri-whatevers are pretty good," Beast Boy remarked.

Raven ignored him and instead focused on Pantha.

"So that's your real name, Rosa Mendez?" She asked.

Pantha nodded.

"As a masked wrestler I keep my identity a secret. We all do, it's part of what being in lucha libre is all about," She remarked as she poked her food with her fork. "But you are my friends and fellow Titans, I should have told you sooner, it's … just hard to give up."

She paused.

"But now, I will tell you about who I really am."

_**-( scene break )-**_

The buzzer rang loud and clear, signaling the end of the day at Venustiano Carranza elementary school. The youngsters in the 3rd grade classroom began to chatter with each other as they packed their notebooks, pencils, pens and other belongings into their leather satchels, or 'mochilas' as they called them. The class was abuzz with excitement as it was also Friday and the children couldn't even begin to conceal their glee at the prospect of the upcoming school free weekend, everyone except for an unusually tall and muscular girl who sat silently at the back of the classroom. Even though she was only 8 years old she was 5'8" and weighed 150 lbs.

"Rosa, Principal Marquez wants to see you before you leave, your mother is already in his office, so don't even think of ditching, understood?" her teacher boomed at her.

Rosa Mendez did not reply as tears dripped down her cheeks. It wasn't fair; they always picked on her, the other kids. The called her names: La Giganta, La Grandulona, etc. The name calling she could handle, but the other kids always ganged up on her at recess while the teachers looked the other way. She usually stoically bore their abuse, for her mother's sake.

Rosa's father died in a mining accident when she was still an infant and her mother had to raise her by herself. The worst part was when Rosa began to grow bigger than the other children. At first the relatives blew it off, but soon it became obvious that something was very different about Rosa. No one understood what it could be as neither of her parents was particularly tall. The gossip began to make its rounds, and rumors began to fly. Soon people were whispering to each other that her mother had been unfaithful to her late husband and that freakish Rosa couldn't possibly be his daughter.

One by one family members began to turn their backs on the young widow, leaving her and her young daughter in a financial and emotional lurch. Rosa's mother, Gabriela, had to start working outside the home to support the family once the meager insurance settlement she received for her husband's on the job death was gone. They were difficult years for both of them and Gabriela struggled to bring some semblance of financial stability to her family, but it was tenuous at best and from an early age young Rosa learned to not "rock the boat".

But today it was different! The class bully, Jorge de Hoyos, crossed the line and touched her inappropriately. Had he done that to any of the other girls in class he would have suspended, maybe even expelled from the school. But in her case such abuses were always overlooked.

She beat up the lecherous pipsqueak and was now going to face the consequences. She watched with a heavy heart as her schoolmates left the classroom. Jorge de Hoyos, whose father was the town's mayor, sneered at her as he waltzed out of the classroom. The black eye on his face provided little comfort to her now. Once everyone left she picked herself up and trudged off to the principal's office.

She knocked politely at the door and heard Mr. Marquez's voice commanding her to enter. As she slowly opened the door the first thing she saw was his stern face. The principal was married to the mayor's sister. That was the thing about living in a small town like Parral: those in charge were all linked and related to each other. Either you were in the "club" or you were not. And Rosa was most definitely in the "not" section.

This wasn't going to be good.

She then saw her mother, who looked like she was in a panic.

"Miss Mendez, please sit down," He ordered her in a stern voice.

Rosa quickly complied as she saw her mother fight back her tears.

"Miss Mendez, you do understand that an education at a public school as good as this one is a privilege, do you not?"

"Yes sir, I do."

"Well, then you understand the position that I am in now. You have become a very disruptive student Miss Mendez, and we simply cannot tolerate that. Effective today you are permanently expelled from this school."

Rosa felt a wave of relief. She wouldn't have to return to the wretched place of torment. Her mother was already talking about sending her to the small school the Pauline nuns ran on the town's west side.

"I understand sir. I am sorry to have caused so much trouble."

The principal rose from his seat and began to pace around the office.

"I am afraid that there will be further consequences to your actions…"

"What? But why?"

He dismissed her protests with a wave of his hand.

"One does not beat up the mayor's son, young lady. Effective today your mother is dismissed from her secretarial job at city hall."

"But that's not fair! My mother didn't do anything! Why are you punishing her?"

He turned away from them and looked out the window in his office.

"Because she gave birth to you, you freak of nature. Is that not enough reason?"

He paused before continuing.

"You are both dismissed. Do not return to these school premises unless you wish to be arrested. Have I made myself clear?"

_**-( scene break )-**_

Beast Boy was livid.

"Where is this Principal Marquez? I wanna give him a piece of my mind!"

Raven placed a calming hand on his arm.

"Beast Boy, don't forget that we are guests in this country. We have to behave ourselves; we do not have legal law enforcer status here like we do at home."

The changeling sighed as he calmed himself down.

"What happened next?" Raven asked in her monotone.

Pantha's expression was vacant as she seemed to be somewhere else. She then snapped back to reality.

"The next three years were very difficult. My mother couldn't pay the rent so we were evicted. An uncle took pity on us and allowed us live in a barn he owned. My mother couldn't find another job and she had to take whatever work people would give her, which was few and far between. I had to drop out of school and work odd jobs to help and I went to bed hungry many times."

Beast Boy frowned.

"I don't care if we're guests here Raven, I'm thinking that the Beast should make an appearance at the mayor's office."

Pantha shook her head.

"The mayor and the principal are both dead Beast Boy, they died together in a car accident. There is no one to bring to justice," Pantha replied.

Once again Raven calmed Beast Boy.

"Gar, I'm just as upset hearing about this as you are. Will you please calm down? The last thing I want to do is bail my boyfriend out of a Mexican jail."

Beast Boy snorted.

"Like their stupid jail could hold me."

Raven shook her head at him before turning back to Pantha.

"So … Rosa … is it OK if I call you that?"

Pantha smiled.

"Of course, you are my friend and colleague, Raven."

"Right … so what happened next?"

"Well … just after I turned eleven, I met Mr. Bernal."

_**-( scene break )-**_

On Wednesdays, Rosa worked with her mother selling vegetables they grew in an open air farmer's market. It was a month after her eleventh birthday and she was already 6'4" tall and had muscles that most men would envy. She also had a reputation for being hot tempered and most of the inhabitants of Parral would only make fun of the giant tomboy behind her back.

One day at the open air market, Jorge de Hoyos stopped at their stall and picked up a few tomatoes. He handed them to Rosa who weighed them and put them into a paper bag.

"That will be 10 pesos," She told the boy.

Jorge looked at her and grinned. Then with no warning he took off running with the unpaid produce. Rosa immediately gave him chase.

"Rosa! Dejalo! Let him go, it's not worth it!" Her mother shouted at her.

Rosa ignored her mother's command. They needed every peso they could get. She was already outgrowing her current clothes and there was no money to replace them. She picked up the pace as she had Jorge in her line of sight, dodging and leaping over obstacles. He would pay, of that much she was certain.

While he was not big, Jorge was quick on his feet and he ducked into a nearby alley. Rosa was closing in on him and she followed him into the narrow street.

There she found a surprise waiting for her. Seven grown men, all shorter than her but still seven of them were waiting for her. She heard footsteps behind her and saw four more men who blocked her escape route. She balled her fists and gritted her teeth.

"Did you think I forgot about the time you jumped me, puta?" The boy sneered at him.

"You were groping me," She countered.

"Don't tell me you didn't like it. I was doing you a favor, freak. And how did you repay me? Well, it's payback time."

Rosa's mind began to race. On Saturdays, her uncle would let her watch movies with him starring Mexico's most famous wrestler, El Santo. Santo often faced situations like this one, and he always won. She always watched his movies mesmerized, especially the ones were he faced off against his nemesis, the wrestler with the blue mask called Blue Demon. She memorized all of Santo's moves and even practiced them. She stared down her assailants.

How hard could it be?

She soon found out when the eleven men rushed at her while Jorge laughed. The first one jumped on her back and she quickly threw him off. The men continued to rush her and she fended them off with aplomb, until one of them punched her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her. Another kicked her legs out and she fell on her back.

To her credit she did not panic and quickly rolled away, using the techniques Santo once described on TV to quickly recover from getting one's wind knocked out. Within seconds she was back on her feet and she continued to fight. After a few minutes some of the men bowed out but it was far from over. Her nose was bloodied and she was panting from exhaustion, but she would not give up. Her attackers however knew that the tide had turned in their favor and they were closing in for the kill. They calmly circled her and prepared to finish her off when a man who appeared to be in his forties appeared out of nowhere.

"Leave her alone, you cowards. Have you no shame?" He thundered at them.

The remaining thugs attacked the man, who fended them off with perfect form. Rosa watched astonished as this stranger, using flawless lucha libre techniques vanquished the thugs, who quickly gave up and ran away along with young Jorge de Hoyos. Rosa stared dumbfounded at the man, who produced a clean handkerchief and wiped the blood from her face.

"Tienes el corazon de la pantera. You have the panther's heart, young miss."

"Thank you, thank you Mr.?"

"Bernal, Guillermo Bernal at your service. You are very strong and very brave young lady. While your technique isn't very good, I can see that you have talent, that you are a natural. How did you learn to fight?"

Rosa smiled at the man.

"I watched Santo on TV."

Mr. Bernal laughed.

"Well young miss, that is very impressive. But if you would like to learn how to fight the correct way I would be more than happy to teach you. You see, I am the coach for the state team. We are moving the team's headquarters to Parral and we'll hold our matches in the arena on the zocalo."

"Really? You would teach me?"

"Normally, since you are a girl I would not. Lucha libre is a man's sport. But you are special; I can see the potential for greatness in you."

_**-(scene break)-**_

Rosa showed up the next day at the gym on the town's outskirts. It was identified only by a simple sign above the door: "Escuela de Lucha Libre de Parral." She cautiously entered the facility, which reeked of sweat and stale cigarette smoke. A sparring match was in progress between two men, which ended after a few minutes when one of the competitors pinned the other. Both men stood up and listened to Mr. Bernal, who critiqued their match. Once he was done he turned to Rosa.

"Welcome!" He greeted her as he handed her a paper bag that contained a wrestler's outfit. "Now go suit up. You can use the ladies' restroom since we don't have a women's locker room yet."

Rosa nodded and quickly changed into her outfit. She looked at herself in the mirror for a minute before leaving the restroom. She saw Mr. Bernal talking to a very short wrestler.

"Rosa, this is Armando. He will be your first wrestling partner. You do understand that in wrestling there is no guarantee of where hands might or might not touch?"

"Yes sir, I understand."

Mr. Bernal gave the two the signal to begin wrestling. To her immense surprise the diminutive Armando quickly pinned her.

"Do not be discouraged Rosa, but you have much to learn still," Mr. Bernal consoled her.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Cool! He was like Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid," Beast Boy cheered.

"Sort of. Except that he trained me for years, and I didn't have to paint any fences or wax any cars. At first I wasn't allowed to compete because I was a girl. It didn't matter that I was 7 feet tall and could easily beat any of my teammates in sparring matches. Wrestlers from outside our team refused to compete with me because I was a girl. Then on my 15th birthday I was told that two wrestlers would compete with me."

"Who were they?" Raven asked.

Pantha chuckled.

"It turns out that Jorge de Hoyos hired two professional wrestlers from southern Mexico to take me on. They were Rayo De Jalisco and El Huracán Ramirez."

"Whoa, I've heard of those dudes! They're good!"

Pantha nodded.

"Yes Beast Boy, they are very good."

"So what happened?" Raven asked.

Beast Boy smirked. He had seen Raven roll her eyes more than once when the three male Titans watched lucha libre on one of the local Spanish Language channels on the TV back at the Tower (how did she think Beast Boy learned to speak broken Spanish?). And yet here she was eating out of Pantha's hand, clearly curious about the outcome.

"Before I could fight them I realized that I had a problem. I didn't have a luchador name or a mask. I recalled what Mr. Bernal said when he first met me, that I had the heart of a Panther. I wanted to call myself La Pantera, but there was already a wrestler with that name, so I changed it to 'Pantha' and had this very mask designed by a friend."

"So were you worried?" Beast Boy asked.

"I was. As you know, if you lose a challenge fight you have to surrender your mask to your opponent. Having your first match a challenge match is … unusual, you normally don't do that until you are established. But it was my chance to break into the field, so I accepted."

"Where was the match held?" Raven asked.

"I fought them both in that arena," She gestured across the zocalo.

_**-( scene break )-**_

Rosa zipped her gym bag shut. Once again she had to change into her wrestler's outfit in the ladies' room, this time at the arena. She raised her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She surveyed her still unmasked face and was grateful that she would be wearing a mask. She was very nervous and didn't want anyone to see her face, which at the moment betrayed her lack of self confidence.

She slipped her mask over her head, pulling her long hair out through two holes in the back before zipping it shut. There was a knock on the door, which meant one thing: it was time.

Rosa took a deep breath and exited the improvised locker room. Mr. Bernal was the one who knocked and he was waiting for her. His face betrayed no concern whatsoever. She wished she felt the way he looked. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"It's time Rosa. Remember … the panther's heart."

She nodded and they walked to the ringside. The arena was small; it seated at most three thousand people. That didn't mean that she couldn't feel the energy in the building, it practically vibrated as the crowd expressed their impatience, waiting for the match to begin.

The emcee took his place in the middle of the ring and the ubiquitous microphone descended from the dark recesses of the arena's ceiling. He took it in his hand and addressed the crowd in the way wrestling emcees around the world always did: bombastically and with great flamboyance.

He first announced that it would be a melee type match, which in theory meant that while all three wrestlers would be fighting at the same time that there were no teams. It would be each man and woman for him or herself. Mr. Bernal had already warned her that they would gang up on her first and then after defeating her they fight each other for the win.

The emcee first introduced El Huracán Ramirez. The crowd went wild with their cheering. It wasn't often that wrestlers of his stature came to Parral and they were thrilled. Next he introduced El Rayo de Jalisco, who also received the fans' star struck adulation.

Now it was Rosa's turn. She ducked under the ring's roped perimeter and before she was standing upright the booing began.

"Go home girl, lucha libre is for men!" Several spectators shouted.

"I can't wait to see you get your butt kicked," A familiar voice shouted from the ringside.

Rosa turned towards the offending voice. It was him; it was Jorge de Hoyos, who was seated with his parents and siblings. Rosa frowned at her pipsqueak nemesis, knowing that even though she could easily beat him to a pulp that it would be a short lived victory since his father ruled the town.

The booing continued until the emcee cleared his throat over the mike. Once the crowed piped down he stepped out of the ring and was replaced by the referee, who called the three wrestlers over and gave them the standard talk about fighting cleanly, etc. He then sent each wrestler to a corner.

Rosa towered over her opponents but she recalled her first encounter in the ring with Armando. Size wasn't everything. Speed, technique and above all cunning were what won wrestling matches and these two men had those qualities in spades. With no warning the bell rang, announcing the beginning of the match.

"Remember what we discussed," Mr. Bernal reminded her.

Rosa remembered well. Under no circumstance should she allow both men to engage her, if that happened she would lose.

Ramirez lunged at her first, and in a swift judo like motion she deflected him away and he landed on his back with a dull thud, quickly getting back on his feet as Jalisco swooped in. He put her in a headlock while Ramirez came in for the kill. Rosa spun around. She did not dislodge Jalisco from around her neck but did use his swaying legs as a club and hit Ramirez, knocking him out of the ring. To her immense delight he landed on Jorge de Hoyos, who was screaming bloody murder.

Now it was one on one. El Rayo de Jalisco was a very skilled fighter and Rosa had her hands full at first. At one point he almost pinned her down, and in a display of near super human strength she broke free and turned the tables on him. The surprised wrestler reacted far too late and she pinned him down in an escape proof lock. The referee began his countdown and after 10 seconds he announced that Rosa was the winner.

The crowd was furious and many began to throw their unfinished drinks into the ring and Rosa was pelted with beer and other objects while the booing intensified. Rosa faced the crowd and made a defiant gesture with her arm. The crowd booed even louder but it didn't matter. Pantha was now born.

_**-( scene break )-**_

"Did you get their masks?" Raven queried her.

"Since they allowed me to fight them, giving me my first break, I did not demand that they unmask themselves. After that I was allowed to compete in the men's circuit. I won the national title just before I turned 16."

"You must have been very proud," Raven remarked.

"I was. Santo himself gave me the champion's belt. I thought that was the best day of my life. The money was good too and my mother never had to work again until she passed away 2 years ago. Of course who would have thought back then that someday I would become a Teen Titan, a super hero?"

The waitress cleared their dishes. Raven asked for the check and paid for their meals.

"We must hurry with our investigation this afternoon," Pantha remarked as she rose from her seat.

"Why?" Raven replied.

"Why?" Pantha chuckled. "The wrestling matches start at 7PM tonight, we cannot miss them."

_**The End **_

Author's note: The wrestlers mentioned in this story are real lucha libre guys from Mexico.


End file.
